Hillhead Review

Michael Gove is expected to attend the Glasgow University Union’s (GUU) 140th Anniversary Dinner this Saturday. 

The Former Secretary of State is due to attend the show debate on devolution and the cause for Scottish independence, and the Gala Dinner for the Union’s 140th Anniversary of 15 November. 

Gove’s appearance on campus earlier this year caused one of the biggest student protests in recent University memory. Glasgow University Justice for Palestine (GUJPS) and Glasgow Against Arms & Fossil Fuels (GAAF) organised a protest following Gove’s argument that the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) should receive a noble prize in The Jewish Chronicle.  

One protestor told Hillhead Review: “Michael Gove shouldn’t be welcome in a Uni that I am at. The Uni are refusing to divest from arms companies and are welcoming a piece of sh*t like Michael Gove which I can’t really stand for.”

Another said: “It’s a disappointment to be honest, I should be proud of the place I go to be educated and at the moment I just can’t be proud of how Glasgow Uni is so invested in the arms trade, and also inviting people like Michael Gove who said that the IDF should be given a Nobel Peace Prize – I think it’s disgusting. No one like this should be allowed near a place of education.”

The University of Glasgow has faced significant pressure from the student community to divest from companies involved in the arms trade. In March, the Student Representative Council (SRC) won a landslide victory in their referendum on student opinion on divestment. 

The GUU and Glasgow University Sports Association (GUSA) did not endorse either side of the divestment referendum. The Queen Margaret Union (QMU) endorsed the ‘yes’ to divestment side, and have publicly campaigned for divestment and Palestine liberation since. 

The GUU has been contacted for comment.